It's not uncommon for players to treat games like comfort foods and stick to what they already know and love. It's the reason why sequels to popular games almost always sell better than brand new IPs and why games like Fornite, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, and Call of Duty continue to dominate sales charts month after month. It's also why a lot of fans are excited for brand new experiences on the PS5 and Xbox Series X but still spend time begging EA to bring back franchises like Mass Effect, Skate, and Dead Space.
In 2008, the now-defunct Visceral Games changed the survival-horror genre with the release of Dead Space, a tense and haunting horror game that combined the atmosphere of Capcom's Resident Evil 4 and Ridley Scott's Alien. Dead Space was a huge success, spawning two direct sequels, two spin-off games, two animated films, and a handful of comic books, and yet the franchise hasn't been seen since for the entire PS4 and Xbox One generation. Whether it's a remake of the original trilogy or a brand new next-gen entry, bringing back the Dead Space franchise would be a huge step in the right direction for EA.
Dead Space Skipped the Last Generation
Formerly known as EA Redwood Shores, Dead Space developer Visceral Games was inspired by the success of Resident Evil 4, arguably one of the greatest survival-horror games ever made, and set out to create "the most terrifying game we could acquire." The team wanted to move away from licensed properties and establish itself as a "proper game studio," with the idea of creating the most frightening game possible and something unlike the rest of EA's usual output. Dead Space released in October 2008 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 to critical acclaim, praised for its atmosphere, setting, enemies, gameplay, and sound design. EA Redwood Shores was quickly rebranding to Visceral Games and a sequel was greenlit; Visceral became a major developer to look out for.
Dead Space 2 released in 2011 to equal critical acclaim, although with a slightly heavier focus on action similar to Resident Evil 4; however, Dead Space 3 took the action to a whole new level, leaving many fans with a sour taste. EA and Visceral had the hopes of creating a blockbuster ending to the trilogy and an entry point that was more accessible than previous games, adding more action sequences, open environments, and co-op gameplay. Unfortunately, this approach took away from what made Dead Space unique, and in turn, sales numbers suffered. EA scrapped the idea of a sequel and moved Visceral over to the Battlefield franchise to work on 2015's Battlefield Hardline. Dead Space 3 was the last game to be released in the series, nine months before the release of PS4 and Xbox One, meaning that after spitting out five games in five years, the franchise hasn't been seen for a full console generation.
EA's Showcase for 2020
EA Play might have excited fans with the announcement that a new Skate game was in early development, but beyond that, there's not a lot on the docket. There are ongoing rumors surrounding a remastered Mass Effect Trilogy releasing in the Fall, but when it comes to confirmed games, there's Star Wars Squadrons, FIFA 21, Madden 21, and Rocket Arena. If those rumors are to be believed, EA is returning to one of its beloved IPs to help fill the gap for the year, potentially leading to a new game in the franchise later down the road, while it focuses resources on developing new games from BioWare, DICE, Criterion, and EA Motive for next-generation consoles.
The publisher is currently developing new games in some of its biggest franchises including Dragon Age, Battlefield, Skate, Need for Speed, and of course, its sports franchises such as FIFA and Madden. Once again, EA's regular output has started following all the same trends that it was nearly a decade ago, leaving some major gaps in its first-party offering that need to be filled. After the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, EA could use more story-driven single-player experiences like The Last Of Us 2 and God of War to break away from those trends that Visceral Games was trying to avoid when it originally developed Dead Space.
The Return of AAA Survival Horror Games
At the end of the previous console generation, there was a large focus on action sequences, questionable DLC practices like "Day-One" microtransactions, and multiplayer modes. Publishers were looking to make every game as accessible as possible in order to maximize every possible sales potential, regardless of how it affected the game or franchise. When Resident Evil 6 released, it was the biggest departure from the series origin to date, and for many players, that was the final nail in the coffin. Fast forward to now, and Resident Evil is arguably bigger than it's ever been after Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake went back to basics and returned to what made the series great in the first place.
Over the last few years, the demand has grown for single-player story-driven AAA games after God of War, Uncharted 4, DOOM, and Resident Evil 2 Remake all proved that when the quality is there, the sales will come naturally. The same can be said for the resurgence of the horror and survival-horror genres this past generation. Times have changed since the days of the PS3 and Xbox 360, so while EA wanted to make Dead Space 3 as accessible as possible because survival-horror games wouldn't sell as well as action games in 2013, that's no longer the case. Moving into the next generation of consoles with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, now is the perfect time for Dead Space to make its long-awaited return, whether it's a brand new game in the series or a next-generation remake of the original Dead Space trilogy.
A new Dead Space is not known to be in development.